Swipe left to discover how to tailor your training around your menstrual cycle. 👉 🔁

Days 1-14 are called the Follicular phase. This is where oestrogen will slowly rise day by day and therefore so does strength. During day 14 (ovulation) this is where testosterone and oestrogen peak and you’ll be at your strongest 💪 📈

Days 14-28 are called the Luteal Phase. This is where progesterone rises, oestrogen drops but then slowly begins to rise again. This therefore leads to a reduction in strength and an increase in appetite. This is probably not the best time to be going for personal bests 😓

As a busy parent, it’s common that your routine can become inconsistent due to irregular schedules because of your children’s activities/ school commitments. Here’s my top tips to help you still make progress even with an unknown schedule. 👉

1) Prioritise and schedule workouts. Add your workout slots into your calendar and treat them as a non-negotiable! Find pockets of time that work for you, such as early mornings, lunch breaks, or after the kid’s bedtime. Even if it’s just something short, it’ll be beneficial.

2) Include the family in your activities. Family walks or bike rides, playing together and even family friendly classes are all great ways to keep activity up. Keeping activity high outside of your exercise sessions is EXTREMELY important if you want to lose fat.

3) Plan and prep meals in advance. Dedicate time on the weekend/ your days off to plan and prepare meals and snacks. This will help to stop you relying on convenient, “unhealthy” food that’s more calorie dense. The chippy happens far less if there’s food that needs to eaten!

4) Prioritise protein Protein is essential as it helps us feel satiated (full). We also burn more calories when digesting protein than any other food. If at an adequate level, we won’t lose any muscle, JUST fat when in a calorie deficit, leading to a more defined look.

5) Plan your weekly shop. Spend a short amount of time to plan your weekly shop ensuring you get a wide range of protein sources and whole foods. This can go a long way in changing your diet for the better.

6) Don’t be a superhero, seek support. Don’t hesitate to reach out for support, whether this be from your partner, family or friends. They can help with childcare or household responsibilities, giving you a little more time. Or even a better, speak to a fitness coach! (Me 😉)

Here’s 10 ABSOLUTE myths about health & fitness: (Number 10 is a bonus 😉 ) Swipe 👉

1) When you eat after 8pm, the whole meal is stored as fat 2) Doing sit ups/ crunches/ planks and endless core work will blast off belly fat 3) Fat can be turned into muscle 4) Lifting weights will make you bulky 5) You can’t lose weight because of your metabolism

6) I can’t lose fat if I eat takeaways 7) I can’t lose fat if I drink alcohol 8) I can’t lose fat if I eat carbs 9) An effective workout needs to be at least an hour long 10) Hiring a coach for help & guidance (Me 👋) means that I’m a failure and weak

Here’s how you can guarantee progress this January! Swipe for more 👉

1) Write down your goals and dig deep on why they’re important to you! (Make sure you have them on show!) E.g. rather than “I want to lose 2 stone” ❌ Instead “I want to lose 2 stone so that I feel better in my clothes and less self conscious next to all the other mums”

2) Create a DETAILED weekly plan Treat your health and fitness how you treat your job! Schedule absolutely EVERYTHING into your calendar/ diary - When are you going to exercise? - Time allotted to cook? - Daily steps? - Downtime?

3) Tell others about your goals and use those around you for support. Teamwork makes the dream work! Tell your best friend, parents, your partner, your kids! They will be more understanding and even supportive of you to help hold you accountable.

4) Grit your teeth for the first 2 weeks After my long break post the 2nd lockdown, I hated the first 2 weeks back with a passion “F*** this I’m never going to exercise again what’s the point?!” Even I had to force myself to remain consistent for 2weeks After that it was easy

5) Understand that progress will not be linear It’s not going to be easy, but what’s the alternative? To remain miserable? To continue with poor health? Showing up for yourself is the greatest thing you could ever do! Consistency wins!

GOOD LUCK! Enjoy the up’s and the down’s! If you’d like any help with creating a BULLETPROOF plan for this year then DM me “2024” 😃